Thursday, August 7, 2014

Emile Nolde

Dark Sea (Green Sky)

Emile Nolde born today August 07, 1867. (7 August 1867 - 13 April 1956) - A fine artist but a puzzling one. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and is
considered to be one of the great oil painting and watercolour painters
of the 20th century. He is known for his vigorous brushwork and
expressive choice of colors.

Nolde was a supporter of the Nazi party from the early 1920s, having become a member of its Danish section. He expressed negative opinions about Jewish artists, and considered Expressionism to be a distinctively Germanic style. This view was shared by some other members of the Nazi party, notably Joseph Goebbels and Fritz Hippler.

However Hitler rejected all forms of modernism as "degenerate art", and the Nazi regime officially condemned Nolde's work. Until that time he had been held in great prestige in Germany. A total of 1,052 of his works were removed from museums, more than those of any other artist.

Some were included in the Degenerate Art exhibition of 1937, despite his protests, including (later) a personal appeal to Nazi gauleiter Baldur von Schirach in Vienna. He was not allowed to paint—even in private—after 1941. Nevertheless, during this period he created hundreds of watercolors, which he hid. He called them the "Unpainted Pictures".

In 1942 Nolde wrote:

There is silver blue, sky blue and thunder blue. Every colour holds within it a soul, which makes me happy or repels me, and which acts as a stimulus. To a person who has no art in him, colours are colours, tones tones...and that is all. All their consequences for the human spirit, which range between heaven to hell, just go unnoticed.[Wikipedia]

In this image: Members of the media take a look at some of the paintings by German artist Emil Nolde presented at the Grand Palais in Paris, Wednesday Sept. 24, 2008. Painting at left is: Leute Im Dortkrug, (At the Village Hotel).